Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 435 › Conversation 435-040
Nixon, Buzhardt & Parker on Watergate and John W. Dean III
Monday, May 14, 1973 · 5:21 PM–6:45 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 hr 25 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr., to coordinate defense strategies and assess legal risks regarding the growing Watergate scandal and the impending Ervin Committee hearings. They discussed the potential legal implications of John Dean’s documents, the handling of White House records, and the broader fallout concerning national security wiretaps. The President emphasized the need for a rigorous, fact-based response while cautioning against any actions that could be perceived as an excessive use of executive power.
Audio
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Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On May 14, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, and Doug Parker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:21 pm to 6:45 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 435-040 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 435-40
Date: May 15, 1973
Time: 5:21 pm-6:45 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.
President’s election reform speech
Watergate
-Intensity
-Public interest
-Ervin Committee
-29-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 5:21 pm.
Refreshment
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:45 pm.
President’s conversation with Alexander M. Haig, Jr., May 14
President’s record
-White House staff [?]
Ronald L. Ziegler
-Previous conversation with President
-Need for help with press briefings
Watergate
-Presidential papers
-Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters memorandum
-Ziegler [?]
-Possible White House staff testimony
-John W. Dean, III’s documents
-R. H. Shepherd
-Availability of copies to White House
-Committee to Re-elect President [CRP]
-Contents
-National security
*****************************************************************
[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-019. Segment declassified on 07/23/2019. Archivist: DR]
[National Security]
[435-040-w003]
[Duration: 56s]
Watergate
-John W. Dean, III’s documents
-30-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-National security
-Classified report on cannabis [?]
-John W. Dean, III’s knowledge
-Communications with John D. Ehrlichman
-J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.’s assessment of documents
*****************************************************************
Watergate
-Dean’s documents
-Hunt’s activities
-White House response
-FBI
-Hunt, Liddy
-President’s obligation to national security information
-Wiretapping
-Legality
-Compared to Lyndon B. Johnson
-Omnibus Crime Act of June 1972
-Leaks
-President’s orders regarding leaks
-John D. Ehrlichman and Egil (“Bud”) Krogh
-Joseph C. Kraft
-Buzhardt’s conversation with Ehrlichman
-President’s conversation with Ehrlichman
-Possible wiretaps by E. Howard Hunt, Jr.
and G[eorge] Gordon Liddy
-Plumbers operation
-Legality of wiretaps
-Army Signal Corps
-Daniel Ellsberg
-Pentagon Papers
-Hero status
-Pulitzer Prize to New York Times
-Effect on foreign policy
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
-White House activities after June 1972
-31-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-National security
-Authority to order wiretaps
-President
-Court order
-Congress
-Secretary of Defense
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-Secretary of State
-Attorney General
-President
-Henry Brandon
-Possible White House statement
-Justification for wiretaps
-Disassociation from Watergate break-in
-Hunt and Liddy
-Hunt’s and Liddy’s activities
-James W. McCord, Jr.
-Donald H. Segretti
-Watergate break-in
-Cuban nationals operation “cover”
-CIA
-Hush money [?]
-Charles W. Colson
-Witness list for Ervin Committee
-Colson, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Dean
-Possible immunity for Dean
-Witness list for Ervin Committee
-Possible testimony
-Committee to Re-elect President [CRP]
-Liddy’s secretary
-Colson
-McCord
-Book
-John B. Connally [?]
-President’s conversation with John B. Connally
-McCord, Hunt
-McCord
-Book
-32-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-Colson, Haldeman, and Ehrlichman
-Executive privilege
-Dean
-John N. Mitchell
-Jeb Stuart Magruder
-Colson, Gordon C. Strachan, Haldeman, and Ehrlichman
-Possible testimony
-Executive privilege
-John J. Wilson
-Possible White House strategies
-Dean’s documents
Buzhardt talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 5:21 pm and 5:45
pm.
[Conversation No. 435-40A]
[Begin telephone conversation]
[See Conversation No. 46-67]
[End telephone conversation]
Telephone service
Watergate
-Ervin Committee
-Legal research
-Possible assertion of executive privilege
-$350,000
-Haldeman’s role
-Ehrlichman’s conversation with Richard G. Kleindienst
Buzhardt talked with Doug Parker between an unknown time after 5:21 pm and 5:45 pm.
[Conversation No. 435-40B]
[Begin telephone conversation]
-33-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
[See Conversation No. 46-68]
Buzhardt conferred with the President during the conversation.
[Begin conferral]
Buzhardt’s location
-Executive Office Building [EOB]
[End conferral]
[End telephone conversation]
Watergate
-Dean’s documents
-Amount of material in inches
-Length of a particular document
-Pages
-Possible content
-Authorship
-Camp David
-Dean’s attorney
-Partisanship
-Democrat
-Motives
President’s schedule
-Prisoners of War [POW] dinner
-Meeting with George J. R. Pompidou
-POW dinner
-Soviet summit
-Domestic issues
-Wage and price freeze
-George P. Shultz
Controversial uses of Presidential power
-Impoundment of funds
-34-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-Vetoes
-Congress
Watergate
-Grand jury
-President’s conversation with Henry E. Petersen
*****************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift during
chronological review 2007-2013]
Smoking
-Ashtray
-Relaxation
*****************************************************************
Watergate
-Grand jury
-Possible indictments
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Colson
-John J. Sirica
-Possible effect on Ervin Committee hearings
-Samuel J. Ervin, Jr.’s comments
-“Facts for American people”
-Ervin Committee members
-Herman E. Talmadge
-Ervin
-Howard H. Baker, Jr.
-Edward J. Gurney
President’s San Clemente property
-Santa Ana Register story
-Ervin Committee
-Denial
-35-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-Leonard Garment
-Robert H. Abplanalp
-Allegations of misuse of campaign funds
-Garment
Parker talked with Buzhardt at an unknown time between 5:45 pm and 6:45 pm.
[Conversation No. 435-40C]
[Begin telephone conversation]
[See Conversation No. 46-69]
[End telephone conversation]
Watergate
-Buzhardt’s previous telephone call
-Sirica’s actions
-Dean’s documents
-Sirica
-Possible motives
-Possible threat to Presidency
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Funds for defendants
-Thomas A. Pappas
-Possible guilt
-Motives of participants
-Million dollar fundraising
-[Unintelligible name]
-Dean
-Knowledge
-William O. Bittman’s demand for $120,000
-Hunt
-President’s conversation with Dean, March 21
-Bittman’s demand of Paul L. O’Brien
-Blackmail
-Hunt and Liddy
-Dean
-36-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-Relationship with Ehrlichman
-Position of President’s counsel
-Activities in Watergate investigation
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
-Ziegler
-Possible actions
-Possible immunity
-Impact of Senate testimony
-Ehrlichman
-Possible actions
-Immunity
-Special Prosecutor
-Transactional immunity
-Haldeman and Ehrlichman
-President’s conversation with Petersen
-Incentive to lie
-Peterson’s concern
-Hunt and McCord
-Dean’s possible actions
-Justification of testimony to Special Prosecutor
-John J. Wilson’s possible response
-Haldeman’s, Ehrlichman’s, and Colson’s future
-Contact with White House
-President
-Lawrence M. Higby
-Buzhardt
-Executive privilege
-Perception of cover-up
-Statements by Haldeman and Ehrlichman
-Need for chronology
-Ervin Committee hearings
-Effect on possible trials
-Mitchell
-Compared with Bobby G. Seale’s trial
-Sirica
-Jury trial
-Juror’s race
-Christian Science
-37-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-Ehrlichman
-Unknown woman [?]
-Possible trials
-Obstruction of justice
-Conspiracy
-Grand jury
-Petersen
-Certainty of case
-Indictments
-Ehrlichman and Haldeman
-Walters
-L[ouis] Patrick Gray and Richard M. Helms
-Helms
-Walters’s conversation with Gray
-Dean
-CIA involvement
-Walters
-Gen. Robert E. Cushman, Jr.’s statement
-Date confusion
-Ehrlichman’s alleged conversation with Cushman
-Departure for California
-Krogh
-Break-in at Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office
-Colson
-Hunt
-Cushman
-Possible legal penalties
-Intent of break-in
-Breaking and entering
-Burglary
-Copying documents
-Misdemeanor
-Felony
-California law
-Krogh
-Dean
-Hunt
-Timing of Ehrlichman’s knowledge
-38-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-President’s conversation with Petersen
-Film
-FBI
-Dean
-Conversation with Peterson, April 15
-Conversation with President, March 21
-President’s conversation with Kleindienst
-Photograph
-Psychiatrist’s office
-Handling by Justice Department
-Hunt
-Petersen
-Embarrassment
-Dean’s knowledge
-Kleindienst
-Petersen
-John J. Martin [?]
-Buzhardt’s testimony
-President’s conversation with Petersen
-Ehrlichman
-Accusations against Buzhardt
-William M. Byrne, Jr.
-Buzhardt’s testimony
-Ellsberg’s hearing
-Document
-Public Affairs office
-Author’s testimony
-Byrne
-United States Attorney Dave Nissen
-Haig and Henry A. Kissinger
-Wiretaps
-Dean’s documents
-Buzhardt’s instructions
-Bob Frankel
-Possible contents
-Presence of classified information
-Executive privilege
-Earl J. Silbert
-39-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-Timing of delivery of information to White House
-Possible contents
-Dean
-Motive for production of documents
-Possible contents
-Relation to wiretaps
-Immunity
-Ehrlichman’s knowledge of Ellsberg break-in
-Dean’s documents
-Possible advantage to White House
-Dean’s testimony
-Value to possible defendants
-Wilson and David Shapiro
-Dean
-Sensationalism
-President’s involvement
-Contacts with President regarding Watergate
-March 21, 1973 meeting
-“Cancer on the Presidency”
-Camp David trip
Buzhardt left at 6:45 pm.Also recorded on May 14, 1973
- 435-035 5:01 PM · 4 min — Ronald L. Ziegler and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:01 pm to 5:08 pm.
- 435-036 5:08 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:08 pm and 5:15 pm.
- 435-037 5:08 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:08 pm and 5:15 pm.
- 917-040 5:10 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:10 pm to 5:15 pm.
- 435-038 5:15 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:15 pm to 5:20 pm.
- 917-042 5:17 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:17 pm and 6:16 pm.
- 436-014 5:20 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Lawrence M. Higby met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:20 pm to 5:42 pm.
- 435-039 5:21 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 5:21 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 435-040, May 14, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/435-040 (accessed October 1, 2026).